


Young, Dumb, Broke High School Kids

by murkus



Category: I Love Yoo (Webcomic)
Genre: Angst, Cheesy, Drama, Drama & Romance, F/M, Fluff, Romance, Sappy Ending, Song fic, cute dates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:13:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23199133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/murkus/pseuds/murkus
Summary: Inspired by the song "Young, Dumb & Broke" by Khalid, written for the song-inspired collaboration challenge on the ILY Amino.It got way too long to post, so I'm going to post it in parts here.A series of dates that Rika and Soushi go on, and Soushi sort of worries about being poor/not being good enough for her.Fluffy with a dash of angst.Warning for some swearing - consistent with the comic.
Relationships: Rika Lau/Soushi
Comments: 13
Kudos: 10





	1. The Arcade

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dianora](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dianora/gifts).



Yeong-Gi pulled up in front of the arcade and threw the car into park. "Well, here we are."

"Thanks for the ride, man, I really appreciate it." Soushi gave the red-head a grateful look and slapped a high-five handshake into his open palm. 

"Have fun!" Yeongi-Gi grinned as Soushi opened the door and swung out of the old Volkswagen. "Don't forget protection!" 

Soushi laughed and shut the door to drown out Yeong-Gi's laughter. He caught sight of Rika, waiting for him by the front of the arcade. She raised her arm in a big wave, her hair swinging.  _ Damn, she looks so good. _ He looked down at his own outfit: ratty sweatshirt and threadbare track pants.  _ Shit _ . 

He turned back to the junky car and rapped on the window. He never had to care about how he looked before, and he only had to worry about having enough money in his wallet for himself. But now… 

Yeong-Gi rolled down the window. "What's up?"

"Sorry, I just realized…" Soushi rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. "Can I borrow 20 bucks? I don't know if I have enough right now to cover her game card, or food…" He trailed off. 

"No problem," Yeong-Gi's smile never faded. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. 

"I swear I'll pay you back as soon as I can," Soushi promised. 

"Don't worry about it," Yeong-Gi said as he passed the bill through the window. Soushi knew he probably meant it too—it looked like he had a few more twenties floating around in his wallet. But Soushi wasn't a freeloader, he always paid back his debts. 

"Hi Yeongi-Gi!" Rika's voice sounded from right behind Soushi, and he nearly jumped out of his skin. 

"Oh shit!" Soushi turned and saw Rika was standing right next to him on the sidewalk, waving at Yeong-Gi through the open window. 

"Are you coming to the arcade too?" Rika asked. Soushi noticed her quick, curious glance at the twenty-dollar bill as he slipped it into his back pocket—so quick he almost didn't catch it. Almost. 

"Hi Rika," Yeong-Gi said. He must have noticed her glance too, because he said, "Nah, I'm just paying back Soushi from a bet. I owe him twenty bucks and a ride, because I told him he'd never be able to score a date with you." Rika laughed and blushed a little, tucking her hair behind her ear. 

Soushi figured he should step in now before they got too flirty—girls always seemed to fall for Yeong-Gi—so he slung his arm around her shoulders. "Should we head in?" he tried to act nonchalant, but he was freaking out internally. _ Was this too bold? _

"Sure," Rika said, blushing even harder. She looked him right in the eyes and smiled and  _ Holy, _ Soushi thought his insides were melting. She looked so damn pretty and her eyes sparkled when she smiled like that. He barely noticed as Yeong-Gi called "You kids have fun!" like he was an 80-year-old grandma and zoomed away. 

They walked inside together like that, and Soushi felt like he was on Cloud Nine. He led her over to the machines and bought them both a $10 game card. He looked around the room and suddenly felt like he had never been here before.  _ What kind of games do I play on a date?  _ Normally he would do racing, or a shooter. Would Rika be interested in playing those though? He tried not to let his nerves show when he asked, "What should we play first?" 

Despite his uncertainty, the arcade ended up being just as easy and fun with Rika as it was hanging out with the guys. They started off with some skee ball and air hockey. They both were equally good, or perhaps it would be better to say bad, at skee ball. But they ended up laughing their asses off anyway, especially when Rika threw one so wildly it ended up jumping the divider and going over into Soushi's target. 

Soushi was surprised to see Rika's competitive side come out during air hockey. "I'm pretty good at air hockey," she said, pulling her hair up into a sloppy bun and then crouching in front of her goal with her striker at the ready. "At least I think so," she said, couching herself. 

"Let's see what you got," he said, and pretended to roll up his sleeves. She laughed, and he felt himself grin like an idiot. Jeez, he was acting like so over the top, trying to get her to laugh whenever he could. He couldn't get enough of her smile.

After air hockey, he showed off his moves in Dance Dance Revelations, and then mayybeee tried to impress her in a shooting game. She just watched, but was a good spotter, pointing out when new enemies came onto the screen, and he ended up scoring higher than he ever had before. He looped his tickets around himself like a victory sash, bowing and posing for an imaginary crowd as Rika cracked up. He used the tickets to get her a small purple squirrel keychain and some candy. 

"Aww it's so cute!"

"What should we do next?" Soushi said, chewing on a twizzler. He was out of money on his game card, but Rika still had some left since she didn't play Time Trouble with him. "Can we go to the photo booth?" she asked shyly. 

"Sure." Normally he thought the photo booth was a waste of good tokens, but she had watched him shoot bad guys in Time Trouble without complaint, and it  _ was  _ her game card. 

He stood in the roomy photo booth feeling a little bit awkward. Rika swiped the card and pressed the buttons, buying the maximum number of pictures her game card would allow. The timer started counting down and Soushi felt frozen in place. What was he going to do for all these photos?

At first, he just smiled at the camera, and Rika smiled and popped her fingers into two peace signs. The light flashed and she changed her pose to frame her face with her hands. Soushi looked at her. 

"C'mon you have to do something different," she said, poking him in the shoulder. 

"Like what?"

"I dunno, make a silly face." 

The light flashed, surprising him. He watched the timer count down again, and Rika framed her face again and kicking up her leg, since she missed the pose in the last photo. At the last second, he thought  _ Screw it. _ He crossed his eyes and roared at the camera.  _ Flash! _

Rika burst out laughing. "That one is going to be hilarious," she said, clutching her stomach. Soushi grinned at her. This is all he had to do?  _ This is easy! I can do this. _ For the next photo, he flipped his hands upside down to make goggles and stuck his tongue out as far as it would go. Rika pulled her nose up into a pig face. Once the light flashed they dissolved into giggles. 

For the next few photos, he jumped, beat his chest, bugged his eyes, whatever would make her laugh, no matter how ridiculous he looked. 

_ 3…. 2…. 1…. _ The booth counted down for the next photo. Rika leaned over and placed her hands on Soushi's shoulder, pulling him down a little so she could kiss him on the cheek.  _ Flash! _

_Holy shit!_ He put his hand on his face, touching the spot where her lips had just been. _Did she just…?_ _She totally just kissed me!_ He looked at her, mouth open, completely astonished. 

Her eyes were sparkling and wet from all the laughing, but her face was flushed from embarrassment. She looked sheepish, her eyes cast down. She opened her mouth, "I'm---"

Before she could ruin the moment with an apology, Soushi reached for her and kissed her back.  _ Flash! _


	2. The Park

After their first date, Soushi had texted practically right away. He tried to wait, so he wouldn't look desperate, but he couldn't help himself. 

Over the next week, they texted more than he thought was humanly possible. But surprisingly, he wasn't annoyed by the number of messages—in fact, he realized he was the one sending more messages, just hoping to get a response from her. He sent her stupid memes, she sent pictures of random things she saw or cute selfies, and they just talked. They talked about everything, about nothing, about whatever, and sometimes they were borderline flirtatious. (He may or may not have asked his sisters for help with those.) Eventually, they made plans for another date: a picnic in the park. 

On Saturday afternoon, he got off the bus holding his large brown paper lunch bag. Inside he had a few sandwiches and some chips; she was supposed to bring dessert. He was waiting by the main gate, where they had planned to meet, when his phone buzzed. 

> Almost there! 😘

Soushi's stomach flip-flopped. She made him feel so amazing and so lost at the same time. He really wanted to impress her. But what was he going to do with her here? The arcade date had been his idea, and he had even worried about that. The park had been her idea. _How can I show her a good time in the park?_

When he looked up, she was there, getting out of a white sedan and carrying a big tote bag. 

"Bye, Dad! Thanks for the ride. I'll catch the bus home," she waved at the man in the driver's seat before turning around to meet Soushi. 

"Hi!" she smiled hugely. The butterflies awoke in his stomach. 

"Hi," he said, smiling back. He thought about their last date, and the kiss in the photo booth. Should he kiss her again? He really wanted to.

"Here, why don't we put these in my bag?" She reached for his brown paper bags, bulging with the sandwiches, and tucked them into her big tote. He saw a blanket folded neatly, a pink box, and a couple cans inside. 

"Let me carry that for you," he said, reaching for the straps at her shoulder. "It looks heavy."

"Thanks," she said, and handed the bag over. "But let me know when it gets too heavy, we can take turns."

"So, what do you want to do?" Soushi hoisted the bag onto his shoulder.

"I'm not hungry just yet. Let's walk around for a bit," Rika answered, tilting her head to let the sun wash over her face. "It's such a beautiful day." She linked her arm through his and strode off into the park. 

Soon they wandered past a little playground. There were a couple of swings, a few bouncy animal rides, and a climbing structure with a wobbly bridge, monkey bars, and a slide. 

"Ooh, let's go on the swings," Rika started pulling him enthusiastically towards the playground. 

"What?" Soushi raised his eyebrows in surprise. It wasn't too crowded with kids, only a couple kids running up and down the slide, and a really little kid with a grandma or a nanny rocking back and forth on a giant bumblebee. The swings were empty, although one was a baby swing and one was broken, the orange plastic seat trailing in the dirt while the other chain swung loose. 

"C'mon!" Rika beamed at him. She grabbed the chain of one of the remaining swings and sat down. Soushi hesitated, but then set the tote down at the edge of the playground and followed her. She swung in small wonky circles, twirling the toe of her sneaker in the dirt as she waited for him. He plopped into the swing next to her. 

"Now what?" he said. 

"We swing, silly." Her eyes sparkled the kind of sparkle that made Soushi forget any self-consciousness he may have been feeling, made him forget any feeling at all other than fuzzy, floating, happiness he only felt when he was with her. 

She jumped up from her swing, came up behind him, and leant to whisper in his ear, "I'll give you a push to get you started. Just in case you forgot how to do it." Soushi felt like he had been electrified, feeling her lips so close to his cheek and her hands on his back. Adrenaline coursed through him, making his heart pound.

He looked back at her as she pushed him. He started pumping his legs, getting himself higher and higher. She moved back to her swing, kicking her legs up to match him. "I always loved the swings as a kid," she said. "It always felt like flying." Suddenly she jumped off the swing and sailed through the air, her long dark hair trailing after her. 

_Thud!_ She landed hard on the dirt and slid, ending up on her bottom. But she laughed immediately, her head thrown back. 

"You okay?" Soushi called. 

"Yeah, I'm okay." She rose, brushing the dirt from her pants, still laughing. "I haven't done that in forever." She fixed her hair, tucking it back behind her ears. She looked a little self-conscious, and totally adorable.

Feeling bold, Soushi suddenly shouted, "Hey, watch this!" He straightened his body, leaned back, looking at the ground upside-down, rushing to meet him. He laughed, caught up in the moment, the rush of air, the feeling like his heart was going to beat right out of his chest. He hadn't felt this weightless, this carefree, in… _years_. Even when he was joking around with his friends, there was always the weight of his family, his life, niggling at the back of his mind. He was loud and obnoxious to cover up those fears and insecurities. How did Rika do this to him? How could she make him forget everything? Feel so free? 

He did a couple swings like that, leaning back, giving his legs a tentative tuck, testing the rise and the fall of the swing. Then he leaned back and did a backflip off the seat. 

"Tada!" He said as he landed, throwing his hands in the air like a gymnast. He looked at Rika, grinning, hoping he had impressed her. 

"Omigosh!" She shrieked. 

The swing came back and smacked him in the back of the legs, and he caught the chain and sat in the orange seat. Then he walked backwards so he could do a standing lean with the swing for support. "What?"

"Are you okay? I can't believe you did that. I thought you were going to land on your head! How did you _do_ that?" The words tumbled from Rika's mouth at a mile a minute. She was already right there, standing in front of him, her hands on her face in shock. 

Soushi laughed. "It's no big deal, it's easy," he tried to reassure her. "No different than what you just did." He lifted his feet a little, half-walking, half-swinging slowly into her so he was sitting in front of her, her body positioned between his legs. "I did it all the time when I was a kid." He reached up for her hands, pulling them away from her face. How _can she be so cute and so sexy at the same time?_ "Although I honestly didn't know if I could still do it," he added, mostly to himself. 

"No way, that was so cool," she said, awestruck. It was just a dumb trick, really, but he couldn't help flush with pride at her praise. 

She was nestled between his legs, and he was holding her hands still, unconsciously running his thumb over the back of her hand. A strand of her hair fell loose, and he reached up to brush it back behind her ear. She smiled at him, and he couldn't resist any longer. He pulled her in for a kiss.

He was so caught up in her, in the electric feeling shooting from his fingertips through to his core, that he didn't hear anything until the grandma-nanny he had seen earlier coughed a loud, "EXCUSE me!" She was now standing near the swings, holding the hand of the little kid, who was looking longingly at the slide.

They pulled apart, Rika blushing. "Sorry, ma'am," she mumbled, covering her smile with her hand. Soushi felt light-headed, like he was a little drunk. 

"Don't you kids have somewhere else you can be?" The grandma-nanny gave them a stern look. "No need to be corrupting innocent children with your indecent canoodling. This is a playground," she huffed. "For children," she added pointedly, jerking her chin towards her small charge. 

"Sorry, sorry," Soushi didn't try to hide his unabashed smile. "We're leaving." He stood up fully from the swing and hurriedly led Rika away to grab the tote, still holding her hand, and snickering the whole way. 

~~~~~

They spent the rest of the afternoon in the park, acting silly and totally lost in each other. They cuddled on the blanket Rika had brought, Soushi resting his head on her lap, her fingers mindlessly playing with his hair. They ate the turkey sandwiches Soushi had brought, along with the drinks Rika had provided. 

"San Pellegrino?" He quirked one eyebrow at her. 

"What?" she said. "Do you not like it?" She immediately started to babble an apology. "Sorry, it was all we had in the fridge today, I should have checked!"

Soushi laughed and silenced her with a quick peck on the cheek. "Chill, it's fine." He smiled at her. "It's just hella fancy for a park picnic. Next time I'll wear my tux," he said sarcastically, smiling at her to cut the bite out of the joke.

She laughed back, cuffing him playfully on the shoulder. "Well then, sir, next time, we'll just drink out of the water fountain, like the broke high schoolers that we are. It's unbecoming for us to act above our station." 

Soushi's stomach twisted a little at that. He knew she was just being silly, but he couldn't help but feel a little like he was acting above his station just by hanging out with her. She only had San Pellegrinos in the house, and he could barely scrape together enough sliced turkey for two sandwiches. He definitely didn't deserve her. 

He brushed the negative thoughts aside the same way he usually did, with loud comments and over-the-top actions. "You mean like that fountain?" he said, pointing to the large fountain several yards away. "Let's go practice right now!" He stood and scooped Rika up, throwing her over his shoulder like a caveman. 

"Soushi!" Rika shrieked. "Put me down!" She flailed a little, smacking him on the back, but he could hear her laughing, so he kept up his steady pace towards the fountain. 

"We're going for a swim!" he shouted. 

"Soushi, no! You wouldn't!" But he just laughed in response. 

Despite his threats, he didn't actually throw her into the fountain. They did splash around a bit, until they spotted some park workers heading their way. 

Once the sun was going down, Soushi rode the bus with Rika and they ate their slightly squashed but still delicious cupcakes together. They sat in the back of the bus so the driver wouldn't see them, and after they finished they took silly, frosting-covered selfies. Rika kissed him on the cheek in one photo, and Soushi knew immediately he was going to set that photo to his lock screen later. His face hurt from smiling so much and he had to restrain himself from making out with her for the whole ride. He didn't want any more elders shaming him publicly, although it probably would have been worth it. 

After she got off, Soushi rode home, lost in thought. Rika was so much fun to hang out with. She took all his silly crap in stride, actually seemed to enjoy it even. _She deserves so much better than me_ , he realized. _She deserves the world. I wish I could give it to her._

He was so distracted, he almost missed his stop. He scrambled to the front of the bus before the driver pulled away. "Thanks," he mumbled as he stepped out onto the sidewalk. _I should take her on a real date. Out to dinner or something else fancy._ He smiled to himself. _San Pellegrino fancy_. He spent the walk home thinking about how on earth he was going to get the money to afford something like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much to Dianora for illustrating this story as part of our collaboration for the contest!


	3. The Art Museum

Soushi and Rika waited in line at the Museum of Contemporary Art. _It's really crowded for a Friday night_ , he thought to himself. Rika was gazing up at the high ceilings and the glass walls. She slipped her hand into his and squeezed. 

She leaned in close to him, resting her chin on his shoulder so she could murmur into his ear. "Thanks for agreeing to come with me." Soushi could hear the smile on her face. 

Normally Soushi wasn't one for art museums (or just museums in general) but he really wanted to treat Rika to a fancier outing after all their lowkey hangouts. He loved spending time with her no matter what they were doing, but he wanted to do something that really felt like a date. So when Rika had suggested it a few weeks ago, he had agreed right away. What's fancier than walking around a museum looking at art you don't really understand? Plus, she has said she was only available on this night, so he had extra time to save some cash (if collecting his stepdad's empties and turning them in for money counted as "saving.")

When it was their turn to approach the ticket counter, Soushi preempted any potential attempt Rika might make to split the cost. "I got this." He reached for his wallet, which was full of money he had been carefully saving, along with some extra from his sisters to help cover any dinner costs afterwards. They were emphatic in their insistence that the guy was supposed to pay for everything on a date, and they weren't about to let their little brother off the hook.

"Two adults?" The staff person at the counter asked, and started punching buttons on their computer. 

"Two students," Soushi clarified, getting ready to pull out his ID card. _Usually museums offer student discounts…_

"Okay," the ticket seller smiled, but Soushi could already hear the mechanical whirring of a printer and two tickets popped out of a machine. "Here you go," the ticket seller said, handing the two strips of paper to Soushi. "Enjoy your visit! Next?"

Soushi took the tickets but didn't move, a little confused. "How much…?" 

"First Fridays are free admission," the cashier said with a smile, and looked around him to the next customer. 

"C'mon," Rika tugged gently at his hand. 

_Free admission? That's a thing?_

"Let's go," Rika said, moving her hand to rest in the crook of his elbow. She was so close Soushi could smell her shampoo. Something fruity. Mango? Coconut? "Where should we go first?"

~~~~~

They wandered the halls and galleries aimlessly, pausing at things that interested them and passing the things that didn't. They sat in a room and listened to music on headphones, and got lost in a dark maze of mirrors and neon lights. 

They took turns posing with some of the funny stuff, like the big mixed media pieces of voluptuous rear ends. 

Soushi also liked taking pictures of just her, when she wasn't looking. He was always sneaking some candids. Sometimes she looked even better when she wasn't even trying. Like in the mirror room, the neon lights were shining off her dark blue hair, and she was just so goddamn pretty. He set that one to his lock screen right away.

They were always taking selfies too, of course—Rika actually had to tell him to tone it down a bit. 

"Don't post that one! I'm cross-eyed! And you already posted like, eight pictures of the exact same thing." She lunged for his phone.

"I want to show off my girlfriend!" he laughed, dodging her reach and running off into the next gallery. It was filled with giant, interactive sculptures made of trash or found objects---miniature cities, mountain mazes, or houses you could actually sit in. Soushi hid behind a skyscraper made of plastic broom handles and empty boxes of dusting cloths. 

His phone chimed.

> Where are you?! 

He texted back, 

> Come find me :P 

He barely had time to load Tweeter before Rika grabbed him from behind. "Boo!"

Soushi jumped so hard he almost dropped his phone. "Why, you little…" 

He turned to grab her and started tickling her sides. 

"No!" she shrieked with laughter and twisted away from him. She ran through a maze of plastic bottle caps and Soushi chased after her, catching her when she ducked into a house made of old license plates and hubcaps. She had stopped running, so he had to grab her by the waist and pull her close to stop from knocking her over into the walls of the sculpture.

"Gotchya," he said, but it came out hoarser, quieter than he meant it to. He was so close to her, in the shadows of the house, arms wrapped around her hips. 

Rika draped her arms around his neck. "You got me," she whispered back, a small smile on her lips. Her cheeks were slightly flushed from running, and Soushi could feel her heart pounding against his chest. The fruity smell of her hair was all around him. 

He leaned in to kiss her, reaching one hand up to wrap around the back of her neck and pull her even closer. 

And then he was completely lost. He felt like he was drowning in her. He was aware only of Rika, of her lips crushing his, her tongue, her hands in his hair and at the hem of his shirt. Of the way every touch made electricity shoot through his body down to his core. Of the way her hips were grinding against him. He was completely overwhelmed. His fingers were tangled in her hair, catching on her the belt loops of her shorts.

He broke away from her lips to trail kisses down her throat. 

"Oh," she sighed, making Soushi's heart squeeze tight and his pants feel even tighter.

"Ahem," a burly voice interrupted. 

They jumped apart, and Rika let out a mortified squeaking noise that was decidedly less sexy than her last. 

Still feeling slightly disoriented, Soushi turned and saw a security guard looming in the doorway of the house sculpture, massive arms crossed across his chest and a disapproving glare on his face. 

Soushi's body went stiff and cold and though he had a bucket of ice water dumped over his head. He instantly became aware of his surroundings: how they were in a fancy museum, how Rika's back was pressed fully into a priceless piece of art, and how there was a shrill alarm sounding. 

_Oh shit._

"No running!" The guard called after them. 

They didn't stop till they were back near the lobby, and they collapsed against the wall near the water fountains, winded from laughing as much as their sprinting. 

"Well, that was—"

"Something," Soushi finished, stepping closer. Rika was still panting a little, and her eyes were sparkling in that way that drove him crazy. He leaned in, reaching a hand out for her waist.

His lips had barely grazed hers before she was pulling away. "Hang on," she said, but there was a wicked grin on her face. "Not here." She looked meaningfully over Soushi's shoulder and when he turned to look he saw a museum guide talking with a couple security guards, including Mr. Barrel Arms. 

"I guess our museum date is over," he said. Rika grabbed his hand, interlacing her fingers with his, and pulled him out the doors into the cool night air. 

She untied her jacket from her waist and slipped it on to keep out the chill. "Why does it seem like I'm always getting in trouble when I'm with you?" she joked as they wandered the pebbled path meandering across the museum's front lawn. 

"I couldn't say." Soushi put on an overly pompous, horrible British accent. "You only bring out the best in me. Perhaps you are secretly," he paused and looked down his nose at her, "a delinquent!"

Rika laughed. "You're so cheesy!" She leaned in to peck him on the cheek. "Thanks for coming with me tonight," she said softly. "I wasn't sure if you'd be up for it."

"Yeah, well," Soushi rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. Sometimes he didn't know how to act when Rika got serious. "Who knew modern art was actually interesting?" He shrugged. 

"It's actually contemporary art," Rika corrected, pretending to push a pair of glasses up the bridge of her nose. 

"Yeah, yeah, same thing."

She giggled. "Honestly, I wasn't totally sure about it either but I figured, hey, it's free, so why not try it? It was pretty cool! 

"Wait," Soushi paused, the gears turning in his head. "You knew it was free?"

"Oh," Rika hesitated _,_ setting Soushi's internal alarm bells ringing. _Was she hiding something?_ "Well, yeah."

Soushi pulled his hand away from her. "Why didn't you say anything?" His mind immediately replayed the scene in his head. _Asking for the student rate, I must have looked like such an idiot!_

"Well I tried to, but you were so persistent about getting the tickets." Her hands were starting to twist anxiously. 

His mind started racing. _Why was she hiding that? Does she think I can't afford it?_ Rika stretched her hand out, reaching for his, but he shifted out of reach.

Her face fell. "Wait, are you mad?"

"Have you always been doing this? Picking free things?" The words themselves were innocent enough, but his tone was harsh. Rika's brows wrinkled, her mouth slightly open in confusion. 

"The park, the museum," Soushi clarified. "Have you been picking things that are free, even if you don't like them?"

"I do like them."

"But you said—"

"I like doing things with you," Rika emphasized the last word. She looked like she was trying to stay calm, but her fists were clenched at her sides. "It doesn't matter to me what we do."

"Well it matters to me." His voice was getting louder. "Why you won't let me take you on a real date? Dinner, a movie?"

Rika was starting to get indignant. "You won't let me pay for anything and…"

"You shouldn't have to pay!" He interrupted. He thought of all the social media posts and memes he had seen— _You can tell a man is broke if he only buys you water; Eat before I pick you up—_ and he felt a roaring in his ears, like he was underwater. "I'm your boyfriend. I should be taking care of you!" He didn't want to be the kind of boyfriend people complained about online. He wanted to make her happy.

Rika gave him a stare that made his insides feel like stone. "Now you're being ridiculous," she said, her voice low. "I don't think that's important and you should know that by now. I'd rather just hang out with you, without you needing to worry about money."

Those words were like oil on a hot stove. "Well, I'm never not going to worry about money!" He flared. "I know that's something you might not understand, with your nice car and your fancy Pellegrino—" At this she turned away from him, covering her face with her hands. 

He knew he had stepped over the line; she had shrugged her jacket up higher over her shoulders like it was a barrier against his words. But he couldn't stop himself. "I'm a piece of shit, I know. I'm junk, I'm trash!" He heard his voice echoing off the high white walls of the museum and realized he was shouting. "You deserve better than me!" 

He paused, then continued quietly, "You're supposed to be with a handsome, rich guy that can buy you nice things and can take care of you. That's what you deserve. That's who will make you happy."

She turned back, looking up into his eyes. Her fists were clenched within her sleeves. Her face was red again, but this time it was blotchy. Her eyes were shining and this time it wasn't with the irresistible sparkle of mischief. Soushi realized she was holding back tears. 

"Don't tell me who I'm supposed to be with. You can't make that decision for me." She prodded him in the chest with her jacketed fist. "I know what I want. I know what makes me happy." She swiped her arm over her eyes to brush away the tears that were threatening to fall, and then she hugged herself tightly and turned away from him again. "Or I thought I did."

"Are you alright, miss?" A woman farther along the path called to Rika. Rika wiped her eyes again and started walking. "Yes, I'm okay, thank you," she said, with feigned cheer. The woman had been walking arm in arm with another. But they had stopped their stroll through the museum garden to watch Rika storm away. He could see their cautious glances at him, as though he might be dangerous. 

_Oh shit._ Soushi felt like he had been punched in the gut. Seeing those women, realizing they had seen their entire fight… Suddenly he was outside of himself, realizing how it must have looked to them. _I'm an asshole_ . He had been screaming at his girlfriend about his own issues, his own guilt and stupid insecurities, and he had made her cry. _I'm acting just like my step-dad_. He felt sick.

"Rika, wait!" He started to chase after Rika. He had to fix this, somehow. 

"Don't, Soushi." Her voice was ice; it froze him in his tracks. "I already texted my dad, he's on his way to pick me up. We're done here." She turned and walked away. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year!  
> With all the craziness last year I didn't have much time to write but trying to finish this.  
> Final chapter coming soon!


	4. The School

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this got really cheesy really fast. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Soushi felt empty inside. He hadn't talked to Rika in weeks and it was slowly killing him. Every time his sisters drove him crazy, every joke he thought of, every silly meme he saw, he wanted to send her. 

He had texted her later that night, but she hadn't answered. He sent apology gifs, begged to talk to her, and still nothing. After a week he stopped trying; he could see she hadn't read any of his messages except for the first one. 

> I'm an idiot. I'm so sorry. 

"You're awfully quiet," Dieter said. "What's wrong?"

Soushi had met up with his friends for lunch. They were chatting about a movie they had seen last week, and Soushi was only half listening, staring absently at his phone and the string of unread texts.

"Nothing, mate, I'm fine." Soushi turned off his phone and slouched into his chair. 

"C'mon, Soushi, spill it." Yeong-Gi prodded. "You barely reacted when Dieter said he was joining the military!"

"Auuuggh, fine." He unlocked his phone and tossed it over for his friends to look. 

"I screwed up. Bad." Yeong-Gi and Dieter looked through all the unread texts and handed the phone back to Soushi, but the words kept pouring out of his mouth. "Rika broke up with me. She won't talk to me. I don't know what to do and I'm such an idiot." He buried his head in his hands. "I messed up the only good thing I had." 

"Jeez, dude, what did you do?"

Soushi ran his fingers through his hair, tugging it in his distress. "We got in a fight. About money. I said… well it doesn't matter, it was all stupid shit and I was wrong anyway." He slumped down on the table and pressed his forehead into the metal grid, as if the pain could erase his problems.

In typical fashion, Dieter tried to comfort him. He hauled him up from the table and handed him a chicken wing. "Cheer up, Soushi. Rika seems like she would understand. I'm sure that she'll talk to you again in a little...

"No mate, I really messed up." Soushi interrupted. "I yelled at her. In public. She was crying." He covered his face, ashamed all over again. "I'm just a piece of shit. Like my step-dad." 

"Hey," Yeong-Gi said sharply. "You're nothing like him okay?" He caught Soushi's eye with an intense gaze.  _ We know what those people are like _ , it seemed to say. "You would never threaten anybody, or hit them, or anything like that. You're a good guy. And Rika knows that too." 

Soushi propped his elbows on the table and rested his face in his hands so he could discreetly wipe his eyes. 

Yeong-Gi cuffed him on the shoulder playfully, trying to lighten the mood. "You got it bad, dude," he said, grinning. "I've never seen you refuse food because of a girl."

"Yeah," Soushi replied. But the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. 

After a quiet moment, Dieter spoke up again. "I could maybe talk to Shin-ae…"

Soushi looked up, not daring to hope. 

"I mean, I don't know what will happen, but I can see what she says. Maybe she could talk to Rika."

Soushi wanted to jump up and hug Dieter, but he settled for pounding him on the shoulder. "Wow, mate, that would be awesome! Thanks!" He reached across the table and stole a couple of hot wings from Dieter's plate. "So what's this about the military?"

~~~~~

A few days later, Soushi was sitting on a concrete block in the plaza outside of Dieter's school building, waiting for the dismissal bell to ring. He and Dieter had plans to go to a movie after school. He had chosen an out of the way spot and texted Dieter where to find him. 

Soushi scrolled through his phone looking for some music when the bell rang and the courtyard filled with the bustle of students making their way to after school activities, meeting up with friends, or waiting for their parents to pick them up. Soushi was about to pop his headphones in when he recognized the white sneakers in front of him. 

"I heard you wanted to talk to me." He looked up and saw Rika's ocean deep eyes piercing him with their gaze. "You're bothering my friends now?"

Dieter must have talked to Shin-ae already. He couldn't believe Rika was standing in front of him again. It had barely been a month but it felt like years. He felt like he couldn't breathe. All he could manage was "Yeah." 

"Well?" She crossed her arms, her foot tapping impatiently. Soushi glanced around, wondering where the words he had practiced over and over in his mind had suddenly vanished to. A short distance away he saw Dieter, standing with Shin-ae and Maya. They were all watching, curiously, or maybe apprehensively. Dieter gave him an encouraging wave. 

Soushi slid down off the block and stood in front of Rika. He slid his phone into his back pocket and kept looking at his hands. It was so hard to make eye contact with her. He missed her so much. 

He took a deep sighing breath and ran a hand down over his face. Then he looked directly into her beautiful face. 

"I wanted to apologize." 

"You should." Her eyebrows were furrowed slightly, her mouth set in a firm line. But she didn't say anything else, and she didn't leave. She stood there, waiting for him. 

"Yeah." he said. "I'm sorry. I—" he tried to find the words. "I shouldn't have said all that. I mean, I do think you deserve better than me." He rubbed the back of his neck and looked up at the sky for a minute, trying to finish. "I want to give you everything, and I can't. But— But I shouldn't let that get in the way. My insecurities I mean. Goddammit this is hard to say!"

He scuffed his shoes against the sidewalk. He could barely get these words out, definitely not with eye contact. But she was still there, still listening. That had to be a good thing.

"And…" He took another deep breath. "I was wrong to tell you what would make you happy. I shouldn't be making decisions for you. Especially decisions that end up with us not together," he added, finally looking back up at her. "Because it blows." 

Rika giggled and Soushi couldn't help but smile back. Damn, he will never be able to get enough of her laughter.

"I really am sorry, Rika. I promise I won't do anything like that again." 

She stepped closer to him. "I've never seen you this serious about anything before." Her voice was almost a whisper, like she was in awe. Like she didn't want to break the magic spell.

"Yeah well, I seriously screwed up. And I seriously can't live without you. So I figured I should  _ seriously  _ make up for it."

She smiled and looked down. Was she blushing?

"Say it again," she mumbled. 

"Seriously." 

"No!" she laughed, and she stepped closer again so she could yank on the lapels of his leather jacket. "The other thing."

"I'm really sorry and I won't do it again?" She was close enough that he could smell her shampoo. Her hands were still clutching his jacket. He felt dizzy with happiness. He wanted to touch her but didn't dare risk it.

"Not that," she said. "I mean, yes, that too. But the other thing." Her fingers were fiddling with the collar of his jacket, and she was staring at him so intensely, it was like the rest of the world didn't exist. "The part where you can't live without me."

He laughed and leaned in to kiss her. 

"I love you." 

~~~~~

_ So you're still thinking of me _

_ Just like I know you should  _

_ I can not give you everything, you know I wish I could  _

_ I'm so high at the moment _

_ I'm so caught up in this _

_ Yeah, we're just young, dumb and broke _

_ But we still got love to give  _

_ While we're young dumb _

_ Young, young dumb and broke _

_ Young dumb broke high school kids _


End file.
